Language Barrier
by lemnlime7
Summary: What if Zelda couldn't tell the prophesied hero about his destiny because of...a language barrier? She will have no choice but to teach Link to speak her language before he can begin his quest. How will this change the events of OoT? Only one way to find out...
1. The meeting

This fanfic is 100% Navi-free. You're welcome.

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Chapter 1 - The Meeting

She knew the hero would come. She had seen him in her premonitions. You see, the princess Zelda was gifted—or perhaps cursed—with the ability to see visions regarding the destiny of her kingdom, Hyrule. The visions themselves were vague but she had an uncanny ability to interpret them accurately every time. She had this ability for as long as she could remember but stopped speaking about it after discovering that no one believed her other than Impa, Zelda's personal caretaker, a no-nonsense woman who probably knew Zelda better than she knew herself. Not even Zelda's own father believed her, who insisted that she simply had an overactive imagination. Her friends had simply laughed at her. However, when the events she interpreted from her visions actually came true time and time again, she knew this was not simply the result of her imagination. Rather, she knew that she was able to foretell the future through these visions. Even at ten years old, she had enough wisdom to realize that this ability was a powerful one.

For that reason, she was not at all surprised or alarmed when a boy nonchalantly entered her courtyard garden despite the surrounding area being full of patrolling guards. Zelda was excited to finally see him in person. He looked to be about her age and was wearing exactly what she had expected to see: a green tunic, brown boots, an odd green hat partially covering his blond hair as well as a sheathed sword and shield on his back.

Zelda was a sight herself among the flowers of the courtyard, wearing a lovely pink dress and a headdress covering her own blond hair. She wasted no time in introducing herself to the boy and explaining that she already knew he would come based on what she had seen in her prophecies, which she then described to him. She intuited that she could trust him with her secret and that he would not laugh at her or disbelieve her. After all, he obviously trusted that she would not scream for help at seeing an intruder in her private garden which would be an expected reaction in this situation.

Zelda told him about Ganondorf, the king of the Gerudo, who was presently trying to gain the trust of the king of Hyrule, Zelda's father. She pointed to a window behind her where Ganondorf could be seen at a distance kneeling before the king. She continued by telling Link that she was certain Ganondorf was only doing this so he could later overthrow the king and take over the kingdom. She also told him that she had tried to convince her father not to trust Ganondorf nor let him get close to the throne, but he stubbornly wouldn't listen, insisting that she needed to let the grown-ups handle grown-up issues. Zelda even gave Link a history lesson, teaching him about the royal family's legend of how Hyrule had been formed by the three goddesses, as well as about the Triforce and its significance. She finished by giving him the task of finding all three of the spiritual stones, the keys to opening up access to the Sacred Realm where the Triforce resides. She made it clear that it was imperative that they find the Triforce before Ganondorf did.

"I know you'll do a great job and save this kingdom from a terrible fate," Zelda assured him. "If you need any assistance, you can return here and I'll do anything I can to help you."

Even though Zelda had spoken with such eagerness and excitement that he couldn't get a word in edgewise during her monologue, at this point she was expecting him to give a nod of acknowledgment or grunt or whatever it is that mute protagonists do to communicate. Instead, she noticed a puzzled expression on his face as he said something that was completely unintelligible to her. He scratched the back of his neck in frustration.

She sweatdropped.

 _Oh, goddesses. The prophesies didn't mention this little detail_ , she thought frantically. It seemed that her kingdom's savior couldn't even speak the king's language. How was she going to communicate his destiny to him if he couldn't even understand her?

She spent some time going over the possibilities in her mind. Could she use some kind of signs or pictures to communicate with him? ...But then the reality hit her—she couldn't draw worth a damn, nor could she ask one of the castle's workers to do it without getting some very strange stares directed at her or, worse yet, Ganondorf being alerted. Furthermore, she doubted that a game of charades would enable her to communicate the importance of his destiny to him or imbue him with the will to risk life and limb for Hyrule anyway.

Although Zelda was already fluent in several languages because of her upbringing and was at least familiar with many more, she couldn't recognize the language he spoke at all. She tried out the other languages she knew but he didn't understand any of them either.

There was apparently only one option left—she would need to teach him her kingdom's dominant tongue, Hylian. Yet she knew this would take much time and could sense there was hardly any of that to spare. Her vague visions didn't give her much of an idea of how long it would be before Ganondorf assumed control of Hyrule, but she knew it would be quite soon. Another problem was figuring out where to lodge the boy and how he would stay undetected from the castle's workers and guards. She would have to work out those details later.

In her haste to lay out everything for him, she realized she had forgotten to ask his name, something the prophesies hadn't conveyed to her.

"My name...Zelda." She pointed to herself as she said it. "Your name?" She pointed at him. "What is your name?" She spoke slowly in the hope that this would help him understand better. She had to repeat what she said a few times before he comprehended her and replied.

"Link."

"Ah, Link! It's so nice to meet you!" She didn't know why, but the name sounded somewhat familiar to her. She stretched out a hand to him, expecting a handshake. However, he simply stared at her, then her hand, then back at her. Zelda decided to reach for his hand in order to shake it but noticed Link immediately tense up and back away a bit in response, preventing her from completing the gesture.

"Umm..." she pondered aloud, quite frustrated by the situation she was in. _Where to begin?_ she wondered.

Well, she figured she should start with the most basic element of learning a new language—building vocabulary. She pointed at the grass and said "grass", then at some flowers which she also named out loud. She looked at Link anxiously, hoping he would understand that she was giving the names of these objects. She repeated their names a few times. Eventually, Link responded by saying the names as she pointed to them, albeit with some difficulty and a noticeable accent.

"Yes! That's right, Link! Very good!" She nodded her head in encouragement and started naming others things as well. Sky...wall...window...and so on and so forth.

He was learning fast, although Zelda was disheartened by his clear confusion after she pointed to herself and said "girl."

Link paused a moment before saying, "[…unintelligible...] Zelda?"

Zelda couldn't be sure, but it seemed like he must have thought she had just given him a different name for herself and was asking her to confirm if her name really was Zelda.

"My name is Zelda, yes. But I am a _girl_ also," she said slowly, pointing at herself. "You are a _boy._ " She then simultaneously pointed at him. Yet he still didn't seem to understand, tilting his head to the side and scrunching his brows in a sign of confusion.

"This...is going to take a while," Zelda muttered to herself in frustration, sweatdropping again.


	2. Friendship

Chapter 2 - Friendship

With Impa's help, Zelda was able to cover up her absences whenever she left the castle to instruct Link in the Hylian language. Impa had managed to find a place Link could stay within Castle Town where he could lay low—a vacant living quarter in such a state of disrepair that it almost needed to be condemned, what with it's leaky roof, unpleasant odor, and lack of any furnishings save an uncomfortable-looking bed.

She hated lodging the Hero of Time in such a dilapidated place but she had to be sure that he would not be detected nor raise suspicion. It was the only place Impa could find which was available on such short notice. If Ganondorf or his henchmen found out about Link's true identity as the Hero of Time, it could spell the end of Hyrule once and for all, legends be damned. Zelda knew that her father had worked so hard to make it the glorious and peaceful land that it presently was and that all his efforts would have been in vain if Ganondorf were to come to power.

Impa took care of providing food for Link but Zelda still brought some morsels she saved from her meals or pilfered from the castle's kitchen as an offering of friendship. Zelda was quite grateful to Impa for giving Link lessons in speaking Hylian when Zelda wasn't able to.

The princess often borrowed books from the castle's library and used the pictures in them to help teach Link. However, she had little experience in teaching others and consequently was not very good at it. At times she succeeded in confusing Link more often than she actually taught him anything. Despite this, Link eventually made enough progress that he could express himself fairly well, albeit with numerous pauses while he recalled the correct words and (more or less) the correct grammar.

Zelda knocked on the door of his living quarters at the agreed-upon time for his daily lessons. It took him a while to answer the door and he was evidently still quite tired judging from the look of his droopy eyelids. The nightmares he had been having recently were intensifying every night, making it harder and harder for him to get a good night's sleep.

Zelda offered Link several pastries that she had saved from her breakfast that morning. "Hi, Link," she greeted. "I'm sorry if I woke you."

He simply rubbed his eyes in response.

"I would really like to do something fun today," she continued. "Wanna go for a walk to the castle grounds?"

Link showed through his expression that he was surprised. Zelda normally taught him to speak Hylian in his quarters but she couldn't bear spending another day in a dump like that. Even though she knew of some places she would like to visit that were outside of Castle Town, there were monsters roaming the land and she was strictly prohibited from leaving without an adult for her own safety. Although Zelda's upbringing would certainly be described as sheltered and spoiled, she still had an adventurous, risk-taking side to her and was not against breaking the rules from time to time (especially the ones she found particularly unfair). However, she had enough wisdom to realize that leaving the safety of Castle Town without a good reason was not worth it, so the green hills of the castle grounds were a good enough compromise.

"It'll be fun! Who wants to be cooped up in this cramped little place when we could be outside on such a nice day instead?" Indeed, the weather was especially ideal, with a warm breeze blowing and white clouds dotting the sky.

"If they see us...what they will do?" Link asked gingerly. Zelda was still working on his grammar with him.

"Relax! They won't see us! I know my way around this town and the castle area," she assured him. She led him by the hand and they walked as inconspicuously as possible to the castle grounds. She wore a long robe with a hood over her dress whenever she went to see Link because it would raise suspicions if anyone noticed the princess of Hyrule making a pilgrimage to the same place day after day.

Zelda brought him to a spot near a patch of flowers where she daintily sat down and invited him to sit next to her by patting the ground at her side. Zelda pulled her legs up close to her face and wrapped her arms around them. Link, on the other hand, splayed his legs out in front of him and leaned back with his hands on the ground behind him to support him. Zelda looked at him and started giggling, holding her hand up to her mouth out of modesty.

"...What is funny?" Link asked, puzzled.

"The way you're sitting...it's just...I've never seen anyone sit like that before! Everyone always acts so formal around me—I almost never get a chance to see how regular people do regular things."

Suddenly, Link began feeling self-conscious and sat up completely straight.

"No, no, it's OK," Zelda assured him. "I like spending time around ordinary, everyday people. I like it a lot, actually. It helps me feel more normal, too. I can tell people are always watching what they say and do around me. I bet they rarely tell me what they're really thinking. In fact, I feel like a lot of my so-called 'friends' are the type that would have nothing to do with me the minute I stopped being royalty." She sighed heavily. "Impa's one of the few I know I can trust."

Looking over at her friend, she says, "Oh, I've been meaning to ask you this, Link...where do you come from exactly?"

He seemed surprised to be asked a personal question but responded nevertheless. "Kokiri Forest."

"Oh yeah, I've heard of that place! Isn't everyone there supposed to be a child forever?"

"Yes."

"Hmm...I thought I head somewhere that Kokiri will die if they ever leave that forest. That's why I'm fairly sure no one around here knows the Kokiri's language. You guys don't exactly get out much," she laughed.

"Yes, but I am not a Kokiri really. I only grow up there." Although Link's speech was still rough, Zelda found his accent charming and couldn't help but smile when she heard him talk.

"Tell me about the Kokiri. Are they nice people?"

"Most of them...no," he replied sheepishly, shaking his head. "Only one Kokiri is nice to me."

"Oh...I'm sorry to hear that. I guess that's why you decided to leave?"

"The Great Deku Tree tell me to come here. He is like a father to all Kokiri and very smart."

"I wonder how he knew to tell you that?" Zelda wondered aloud. "Maybe he's like me..."

Link decided to venture a question this time. "How you know I would come? The first day I see you, I mean to say."

She supposed now was the time to try telling him again. She doubted he would understand all of it, but she did her best to explain everything in the simplest terms she could. Link asked questions throughout to try to comprehend better.

"You say you have...um...what you call them? Premo-ni-shuns? And they tell you I come here? It is strange...I have bad dreams also. They tell me that they will come—bad things."

Hearing this piqued Zelda's interest. "You have premonitions, too? I'm not the only one who can see them?"

"Yes, but these...um...premo-nitions, they are only happening for some weeks now. No for much time."

"Hmm...that's strange. I've been having premonitions for as long as I can remember. I wonder why yours only started recently?"

"The Deku Tree tell me that the bad things are very close and for that, I start to have bad dreams."

"That makes sense," she noted. "And what we're gonna do to fight back is open up access to the Sacred Realm where the Triforce is. To do that, we need all three of the spiritual stones. I know one of them is with the Goron tribe near Death Mountain. You can get there by going through Kakariko Village. I wrote a letter for you that will allow you to go there. Normally, only the Goron can go there because of the danger." She handed him a letter that she pulled out of her cloak. "I noticed you already have one of the stones. I'm not sure where the last one is, but I'm sure you can find it. Link, we absolutely _cannot_ let the Triforce fall into Ganondorf's hands. The fate of Hyrule depends on it!"

After contemplating for several silent moments, he declared confidently, "I understand what I must do."

"And will you do it?" asked Zelda hopefully, hands clasped together as if in prayer.

"Yes, of course! I live for the adventure. To stay here is...um...what is the word?"

"Boring? Terrible? Worse than being swallowed by a Like-Like?"

"Yes, yes, exactly!" he laughed.

"Oh, Link, that is soooo cool of you! You truly are the Hero of Time to be willing to put yourself in harm's way for a kingdom that you hardly even know!" Zelda threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. Link was caught off guard by this. He had never been hugged by anyone before, not even his good friend Saria.

"When will you leave to start your quest?" she asked.

"When is time I should go?" he questioned, erring with his grammar again.

Zelda hesitated as she thought it over. She knew that the sooner Link left, the better, but she (somewhat selfishly) wanted to spend at least a little more time with her new friend since she knew that, once he left, he would not return for many suns and moons.

"How about a few hours from now? I want to play a few games first! You want to?"

Link's face lit up after hearing this. Even though he was the brave and battle-ready Hero of Time, he was also a fun-loving boy. And right now, he could really go for a game of tag with another kid his age.

So they ran around the castle grounds, careful not to get too close to any of the guards, all the while laughing and taunting each other.

As Zelda was looking over her shoulder, trying to avoid being tagged, she tripped on a rock hidden in some tall grass and fell to the ground. She got grass stains on her dress from the fall and knew she would hear groans later from Impa who would be the one to have to clean it. At the same time, Zelda also heard laughter coming from behind her.

"Who are you laughing at?" she yelled over her shoulder. "Oh, you wanna laugh, huh? I'll _make_ you laugh!" With a quick rise to her feet, she ran with determination toward Link, tackling him to the ground where she started tickling him relentlessly. She was grinning from ear to ear from how funny it was to see the diminutive hero rolling on the ground, laughing uncontrollably like the silly kid he was.

"Stop!...Stop!" he yelled between fits of laughter.

Although Zelda was immensely enjoying the spectacle, she grudgingly complied. "All right. But you deserved it for laughing at me!" she shouted defiantly.

They continued playing tag until they tired of it, which is when they decided to play tug-of-war with a stick Zelda found. "Here, you grab this end and pull as hard as you can. Try to yank it from me," she explained.

"You are ready to lose?" Link taunted.

"That's what _you_ think!" Zelda retorted. She yanked the stick hard right from the start before Link was prepared, knocking him off-balance and tearing it from his hands.

"Ow!" he cried.

"What's the matter?" She walked over to him and noticed that he was cradling his left hand with the other hand. She knelt down and looked at it. "Oh, don't be a baby! You've just got a splinter there. Here, let me help you pull it out." Zelda took his hand and gently extracted the splinter. Link winced for a moment as it happened. She then placed two fingers over the spot where the splinter was, closed her eyes for a moment, then said, "There. It's healed."

Link looked at his hand and was amazed to see that his skin was no longer broken where the splinter had been. "How you do that?!" he asked incredulously.

"A girl's gotta have some secrets, right?" she giggled. "It's a talent I have. I'm sure it would be a cinch for me to get a job as a medic, huh?"

Zelda showed Link another magic trick—she produced a small fireball from her outstretched hands which traveled forward and eventually dissipated in the distance. "That's as big as I can make it right now. Maybe one day I'll be able to do better," she said wistfully. Although this sorcery impressed him immensely, Link secretly wondered how she managed not to burn the castle down with an ability like that at her age.

In turn, Link showed her how to use his slingshot, a tool she had never seen before which intrigued her with its ingenuity. She noticed Link also had a plain-looking ocarina with him. "Hey, where'd you get that?" she asked curiously.

"My friend give to me before I leave from the forest," he replied, erring several times with his grammar.

"Oh, how nice that you have one, too! You know, I have a feeling I should teach you this song before you leave. It's the Song of Time that's used to open access to the Sacred Realm in the Temple of Time, but that can only be done with _my_ Ocarina of Time." She played the song for him and watched him try to repeat it on his ocarina. She had to correct him a few times before he was able to play the piece successfully.

Next, Link came up with the idea of racing to see who could climb to the top of a nearby tree first. By the time he had reached the top, Zelda was still struggling just to climb the branches at the base of the tree. Not only did he beat her easily, he then performed all sorts of acrobatic maneuvers around the branches just to show off further.

"Well...you had the obvious advantage here, being from a forest and all," Zelda muttered jealously.

They continued playing various games like catch and hide and seek for the next few hours until Zelda could sense strongly that the commencement of Link's quest couldn't be delayed any longer. "Link...it's time for you to go! Please come back as soon as you've found all the spiritual stones!"

Link nodded in acceptance of his mission.

As he turned to leave, Zelda added, "Oh, one more thing, Link." She threw her arms around him in another friendly hug. "Please come back safe."


	3. The reunion

Chapter 3 - The Reunion

As promised, Link collected all three of the spiritual stones and promptly returned to Hyrule Castle. Unfortunately, he was too late. Ganondorf had already laid siege on it by the time Link arrived, just in time to see Zelda and Impa fleeing on horseback with Ganondorf in hot pursuit. He was a ghastly man who made Link's hair stand on end when he stopped just long enough to speak with the young adventurer briefly, demanding to know where the people on the white horse had gone. Link's steadfast refusal to speak only served to anger the man, but he was in too much of a hurry to waste time on interrogating the boy in a more...persuasive manner.

Before escaping, Link remembered Zelda having tossed something to him which had fallen unceremoniously into Castle Town's moat. Link soon discovered that it was her family's precious heirloom, the Ocarina of Time. After retrieving it, he held it above his head for several seconds. He was never quite sure why he always did that when he found something new...

He played the Song of Time that Zelda had taught him at the altar in the Temple of Time in order to unlock access to the Sacred Realm. However, due to an unfortunate and unanticipated series of events, Ganondorf entered the Sacred Realm as well, causing the Triforce to split into three equal parts when he touched it, just as the legends predicted.

The Sages decided to seal Link away in the relative safety of the Sacred Realm for seven years until they believed he was physically ready to fulfill his role as the Hero of Time and would be able to stand a chance against Ganondorf in battle if (or rather, when) that moment came. It could be said that this action was necessary since the ten-year-old Link could barely even lift the Master Sword, let alone use it, because of its impressive weight. The Sages knew that the legendary Master Sword was the only weapon that had the potential to defeat Ganondorf and that, like most weapons, it had been forged solely with the intention of adult use.

After waking from his seven-year sleep, Link immediately felt the greater maturity and strength that came along with being seventeen. Strangely, he felt like he _had_ actually lived those seven years, during which time he learned new skills and trained with his sword, bow, tools and other weapons, all the while becoming a better combatant. It was a sensation similar to having a dream that was so vivid that it actually was reality for the dreamer up until the moment he awoke. Link also learned to speak proper Hylian during his seven-year rest and he was eternally grateful for that.

For these reasons, he felt prepared for the numerous challenges that lay ahead of him almost as soon as he woke up. Which was fortunate, because the moment he left the Temple of Time, he was met with the horrifying sight of the current condition of Hyrule. The perpetually bleak sky looming overhead and piercing screams of the Redead roaming the once-bustling but now deserted center of Castle Town chilled him to the core.

He made it a point to ask the people he met on his travels if they knew the whereabouts of the princess Zelda, but they invariably gave him the same response—no one had a clue where she was. Of course, it wasn't actually necessary for him to find her since he had already received instructions on how to continue his quest—to defeat the evil forces in several distinct temples scattered throughout Hyrule, many of which were in places he had already traveled to as a child. Despite this, he was still quite worried about what had happened to Zelda and hoped that she was simply hiding somewhere, safe and sound. He certainly didn't want to dwell on the alternative, less optimistic explanations for her disappearance. The distraction of worrying about her would only hinder him in combat so he had to suppress those thoughts the best he could.

Link soon overcame the challenges of the first few temples. None of them were easy but with enough courage and ingenuity, he was able to persevere. The memory of the Water Temple would especially give him headaches and nightmares till his dying day—just filling and emptying water for an innocuous bath would surely trigger flashbacks.

His next target was the Shadow Temple, the entrance of which was in Kakariko Village. That's where he met Sheik again, that mysterious person wearing strange clothing bearing the symbol of the gossip stones that he saw around Hyrule. It was apparent that Sheik was helping to guide Link on his journey—after all, he had the remarkable ability to so often be wherever Link was at just the moment when he could use some help or advice.

Using a small harp, Sheik had taught Link some new songs for his ocarina which were indispensable to him on his travels. Sheik's voice sounded especially strange because of the layers of cloth covering his mouth. Link couldn't shake the feeling that he was trying to hide something because of this...

Ever speaking in riddles, Sheik talked about Impa, the sage of the Shadow Temple who needed assistance, and then he taught Link the Requiem of Shadow. Something about the way Sheik spoke about Impa brought a memory back to Link. Although Sheik claimed to be a Sheikah like Impa, Link was starting to become suspicious of this. While playing the song, he made an error on purpose to test Sheik's reaction. Link carefully observed the way the supposed Sheikah corrected him. He looked closely in Sheik's eyes, practically the only part of him visible due to the numerous cloths covering his face and head. Now he was sure of it—those otherworldly red eyes weren't fooling him anymore.

"Zelda?"

Sheik was stunned, immediately becoming wide-eyed. After quickly looking around to see if anyone was watching, Sheik grabbed Link by the collar of his tunic and pulled him into a nearby building. It was fairly dark inside, but from a small amount of light seeping through a hole in the roof from the gray cloudy sky above, one could see that the building had been abandoned, although some random dusty furniture was still around.

Sheik pulled the cloths from 'his' face and head to reveal long strands of blonde hair. The red eyes slowly began transitioning to blue.

"How did you...?" Zelda asked incredulously. "I thought my disguise was perfect! You have no idea, with an outfit this tight, how hard it was to hide my..." Realizing who she was talking to, she finished by swiftly adding, "oh, um...uh, never mind..." She laughed nervously, sweatdropping from embarrassment.

"Your disguise _is_ good..." Link replied, speaking much more confidently and quickly than he did seven years ago. "...but the way you spoke about Impa and the way you corrected me on the ocarina...that's how I knew it was you."

 _So that's how he figured it out_... Zelda thought. Although she was well aware that Link had been resting in the Sacred Realm for seven years, she had no idea that Link would learn things like how to speak better Hylian during the time he spent there. His voice had noticeably deepened from what she remembered from when he was ten, although she realized that was only natural for a male, of course. Even so, he hadn't completely lost that charming accent which remained pleasing to her ears.

"Let me explain, Link," she implored. "Impa thought I should disguise myself so that Ganondorf wouldn't be able to find me, at least not easily. I practiced honing my sorcery techniques and survival skills during that time. When I sensed that you were finally going to return after all these long years, I knew I had to find you and help you in any way I could, so I followed you from the safety of the shadows...but I was afraid to tell you who I really was because I couldn't risk being found by Ganondorf. I didn't want to be a liability to you if I ended up being kidnapped by him as a result. That's the only thing that prevented me from telling you who I was. I really hope you understand why I did this." She looked at him anxiously, desperately wishing he could forgive her.

Link nodded his head in a sign of understanding. Zelda smiled in return. She was incredibly thankful that he wasn't angry about the deception.

After pausing for a few moments, she started fidgeting nervously with her hands. "There...there's something I've wanted to do so much for so long..." She wrapped her arms around him, placed her head against his shoulder and hugged him close. "I've thought about you so much over these past seven years. It frightened me to think of never seeing you again...of never seeing you laugh again...of never seeing the funny way you sit again. I missed you so much, Link."

It warmed him deep inside to hear her say such sweet things. For that reason, when she lifted her head to kiss him, he didn't hesitate to reciprocate it. Zelda already knew that she wanted to share more than just a kiss with Link, but she was also aware that it wouldn't be appropriate to make such advances on the Hero of Time...at least, not while he was in the midst of his quest...This was hardly the ideal time or place for such a thing, for that matter. Part of her upbringing involved learning to inhibit herself in order to avoid bringing shame on her kingdom, a vital skill for her to have since she was seen as a representation of all of Hyrule. So she knew this was the right thing to do. One kiss was enough for her. No problem...right?

Wrong. After finishing their kiss, Zelda noticed that Link wouldn't stop looking at her tenderly with those ocean eyes of his. She felt her face getting incredibly hot and had to avert her gaze in order to lessen the intense emotions she was feeling.

The biggest complication to her plan came when Link put his hand under her chin and guided her face back to meet his. Once she was looking into his eyes again...that's when she knew she was a goner. Her heart was racing like a marathoner equipped with a bunny hood. She was absolutely euphoric.

He leaned in to steal a kiss and she found herself not minding it one bit. After this, he swept her off her feet and carried her to a nearby bed, never taking his eyes off hers.

"Link..." Zelda whispered. She let herself trail off, being struck speechless by the situation she found herself in. She knew exactly what she should be telling him: _Hey...Link...this thing we're about to do...it really isn't a great idea. This was never foretold of in the prophecies...you know how I like to follow those to the letter...It's also pretty unsafe under the circumstances...and irresponsible...and indecent...not to mention so...typical...of hormonal adolescents...and...it's also...um...uh...what was I thinking about again...? Oh...yes...something about...uh...irresponsibility...and...um...not a good...idea...or something..._

Zelda found that for the first time in her life, she could hardly hold down a coherent thought. All her reservations simply melted away as she peered into the eyes of her handsome knight, the dear friend who made her smile and laugh like no one else could, the one whose tremendous courage inspired her to be a better leader to her people. Soon, smiles for each other were the only thing they wore.

Link marveled at the beautiful rose that had only moments ago been hidden under rather unflattering Sheikah garments. He covered her face and neck with countless kisses. Before long, he was occupied with exploring her body, a thing which he did quite ravenously. Zelda was at a loss for adequate words to describe the sensation of his touch, yet she knew one thing for sure—her desire for physical contact with him was endless. She ran her hands gently and lovingly through his hair and along the curves of his back.

When Link had finished doing his part in making Zelda one very satisfied woman, she climbed into position over him to return the favor. This was when she noticed a cut on his waist that was alarmingly long and deep.

"Link! What happened here? You're hurt!" she exclaimed with great concern tingeing her voice.

"The fire dragon, Volvagia...it attacked me here," he replied.

"Oh, goddesses. I wish I had known sooner!" She placed a hand over the cut, closed her eyes, and moved her fingers along its length. This process took much longer than it had with the splinter and did not completely eliminate the wound, but it did significantly reduce the depth and appearance of it. "Sadly, I'm not a miracle worker. This is the best I can do," she explained. "Oh, Link...I can't imagine how much pain you've suffered throughout your journey...I so wish I could take away all of it. I can't believe how much you do for Hyrule but how little anyone can do for you in return..." She appeared dejected and downcast, as if she felt she had failed him. She had, after all, been the one to originally send him on this extremely perilous quest and it was difficult for her to not blame herself for any injuries he suffered along the way.

"It's OK," he spoke earnestly, touching the side of her face. "To be with you is the best medicine I could have."

At this, Zelda couldn't help but laugh. "Link, you big flirt!" She pushed his shoulder playfully. "I bet you say that to all the girls!" Laughing like this renewed Zelda's vigor. She simply had too much fun stimulating her lover's body and observing his amusing range of reactions.

 _The prophecies sure have made my dating life easier_ , Zelda mused. _He is, quite literally, the man of my dreams...Thank the Goddesses that this wonderful boy...this man...has come into my life and changed it so much for the better. How fortunate it is that Link feels the same for me as I do for him, especially since I'm sure he has more than his fair share of admirers. He is so unlike anyone I've ever met...constantly putting others before himself and asking for nothing in return. Hyrule is so lucky to have a guardian like him...and so am I._

Eventually, they were overcome with exhaustion from their energetic antics. For a while they simply laid side by side, holding each other, enjoying each others' warmth in the midst of an otherwise cold and dreary place. After a while, Link knew it was time for him to continue his journey. As he sat up and began equipping himself in preparation to leave, he felt Zelda touch his shoulder.

"Link...I will be watching over you. I will do everything in my power to protect you."

"Hey...isn't that _my_ job?" he said jokingly, causing her to laugh.

"It'll be both our jobs. I wouldn't want to be a boring old damsel in distress, you know?" She winked at him.

As she was putting her disguise back on, a thought kept nagging at her. She knew she needed to tell him before he left or it would continue to pester her until she had another chance to tell him—and who knew how long that might be. She looked over at Link who already had his eyes fixed on her. He took her hands in his before making a solemn declaration. "Zelda...I love you."

Zelda could feel her heart racing again. "Link..." she spoke quietly. "Oh...come here, you..." She tugged at the collar of his tunic to bring him intimately close. "You stole my line, you know." She touched the side of his face before going on. "You have no idea how much I love you back. More than I ever thought I could love someone." They kissed for what seemed like the thousandth time, although she could never imagine growing tired of it.

She realized then that she had loved him even since the age of ten, but she had been too young and inexperienced in the ways of the world at the time to have known that what she felt for him was that beautiful, elusive thing called love. The seven years they had been apart only heightened those emotions rather than abated them. It didn't matter to her at all that they were from two very different cultures and social classes or even that they couldn't speak the same language at first. What mattered most was how good she always felt when she was with him. She could be her silly, tomboy self around him with no need to worry about getting stern reprimands and lessons on how to behave like a proper princess as a result. She just knew she could face any problem, whether trivial or monumental, with him by her side. No archaic rule on royal propriety would get in the way of her spending the rest of her life with her true love—she would make sure of that.

Link stood up and started heading to the door just as Zelda remembered something else. "Before you go, could you just explain one thing to me?"

Link turned to face her.

"Why does Ruto keep calling herself your fiancée?"

Link's face reddened before he responded at a hurried pace. "It's not...we didn't...um... Long story! No time to explain...gotta go—farewell!" He peeked out the door cautiously before beating a hasty retreat.

"Hey! Listen! Wait a minute!" Zelda pleaded after him. She crossed her arms out of frustration, muttering, "Hmph!...Men..."


	4. Finale

Chapter 4 - Finale

The rest of Link's quest went smoothly until the last leg of it—the Spirit Temple. Although he encountered little trouble in finishing off Twinrova, the amalgam of the two villainous witches Koume and Kotake, he was blindsided by a final attack from them as they were in their death throes. Twinrova summoned a large, needle-like icicle which was propelled in Link's direction, penetrating his back and passing through his torso before he even knew what hit him.

He immediately fell to the ground in intense, numbing pain that threatened to make him pass out at any moment. Yet he was at least fortunate enough to have enough presence of mind to know that if he didn't escape the temple, he would have essentially no chance of survival. It was nearly a guarantee that not a single soul would ever venture so deep within such a dangerous place to find him. He somehow managed to use a last reserve of energy to bring the ocarina to his mouth and weakly play the notes that would carry him outside the temple.

Perched on a ledge on the outside wall of the temple was Zelda, disguised as Sheik, who saw Link as soon as he appeared. It was immediately clear to her that something had went horribly wrong inside since Link was lying prone on the ground and blood was staining his green tunic a crimson red.

She rushed directly to his side, completely forgetting her Sheik pretense. "Oh goddesses, Link! What happened?" she asked with extreme concern. The sight of Link in this condition was horrifying to her and it was difficult to avoid letting show in her voice and face the gripping, overwhelming panic that was inundating her.

Link, however, was unable to respond and struggled to even keep his eyes open as he tried valiantly to cope with the almost unbearable anguish he was feeling. Shaking and grunting were his body's involuntary reactions to the pain. He was sweating profusely from the relentless heat of the desert sun and the air, hot as an oven, was sweeping sand all around, stinging their eyes.

Zelda knew she needed to bring him to a more suitable location for treatment, as it would take some time for her to heal such a grave wound. The first place she thought of that would provide adequate refuge was the Temple of Time so she decided to go there posthaste.

"Just hang on, Link. I won't let you die!" she assured him. She took the ocarina from Link and played the song that would transport them there.

Upon arriving, Zelda immediately began using her healing powers to treat Link's injury. It took much longer and far more concentration on her part to close his wound than it had taken her to treat any wound ever before, but she refused to give up. She wanted to make sure he would not only survive but make a nearly full recovery...at least, eventually. She also took a moment to tip some of the arrows in his quiver with light magic which would undoubtedly be useful to him sometime in the near future against the forces of evil.

Zelda started becoming aware of some strange substance appearing around her which she noticed out of her peripheral vision. She ignored it at first in order to continue treating Link, her main priority. Before long, however, the substance suddenly appeared all around her, encasing her in a crystal-shaped capsule that began to simply float above the ground!

She banged furiously on the walls of her prison in a desperate attempt to escape. Not a word of what she shouted was audible, not even when she screamed at the top of her lungs. Link was still far too weak to be able to do anything to help her—just trying to sit up caused him immense pain. He had no choice but to watch helplessly through his blurry vision as she began panicking. He thought he even saw a few tears fall down her face as she looked at him with incredibly sad eyes. He couldn't stand seeing this.

"I can assure you, princess, your efforts to escape are entirely futile," a deep, eerie voice said from the direction of the temple's entrance. From the shadows appeared the ominous dark lord himself. "Struggle all you want, it will only serve to entertain me."

Ganondorf surveyed Link disdainfully from the corner of his eye, hardly finding him worthy of lowering his gaze for. The Triforce marks on the back of Zelda, Link and Ganondorf's hands all glowed from being in close proximity to each other. "I could only conclude from your deftness with the healing arts I witnessed just now that you were none other than the princess of Hyrule that I have been seeking for so long."

Zelda's heart was racing because of the fear she felt in droves for what this man was capable of. She realized then that she had made a huge mistake in coming to the Temple of Time. It was far too heavily monitored because of its close proximity to Ganondorf's castle. _If only I had chosen to go someplace safer_...she thought. _This is all my fault!_

"Well done, princess," he mocked. "Your disguise was most convincing and I doubt I would have ever found you had you not decided to stupidly prioritize this pathetic boy over your own safety. Don't let it be said that there's no honor among thieves, princess. I could have already easily killed you and your...love interest here..." he said contemptuously, rolling his eyes, "... _if_ I had wanted to. But building an empire on backstabbing and other lowly tactics would simply feel hollow. However, I will need to take you with me as assurance that the boy with the Triforce of Courage will appear before me later at a time when we can fight more fairly."

Turning to look in Link's general direction, he continued. "Although I'll admit that I did somewhat...underestimate your capabilities, boy, I am completely confident that some misplaced courage will not be enough to defeat one as powerful as I."

Link closed his eyes briefly while dealing with another bout of intense pain. When he reopened them, Ganondorf was gone, along with Zelda and her crystalline prison.

"Zel...da..." he uttered weakly, holding the side of his stomach while grimacing. He eventually passed out from the lingering pain of the trauma he had suffered.

By the time he awoke, he was amazed to discover that he had made what could only be described as a miraculous recovery that left him with almost no signs of the massive injury he had suffered, all thanks to the unbelievable power of Zelda's magic.

He had no idea how long he had been resting, but clearly much time had passed since it was dusk when he left the temple. He wasted no time in approaching Ganondorf's castle. The sages built a bridge for him and he entered, full of courage for the undoubtedly fierce battle that lay ahead of him. The legend Zelda had told him about was hardly what motivated him anymore. No...now it was personal. Ganondorf had stolen away his beloved Zelda, the angel who had patiently taught him her language, had always treated him kindly and who made him feel stronger and happier than he ever had before. He would fight to the death for her without thinking twice.

As he climbed the sinister, blood-red stairs to Ganondorf's chamber in the castle, Link heard a haunting song playing on organ, sounding like a church service from the depths of hell. As he entered the chamber, he was met with the sight of Zelda still suspended in the air in her crystal prison. The room was dark and filled with stained-glass windows. The Triforce marks on the back of the trio's hands once again glowed due to their proximity.

Ganondorf stopped playing the organ upon sensing the presence of the holder of the final piece of the Triforce. Without turning to give Link the dignity of looking him in the face, he threatened him. "You should have turned tail and run while you had the chance, boy. I'm going to crush you right here and now and your dear princess will see it all. The last thing she will remember of you is your guts being splattered underneath my boots!"

With much flourish, he stood up from his bench, turned while simultaneously sweeping his cape around him and began floating well out of reach of Link's sword. Ganondorf possessed dark magical powers, making him a formidable opponent who propelled lethal magic spells from a distance. Link barely had enough time to dodge them and he felt their dark energy graze him on several occasions.

He suddenly remembered that he had the aid of the light arrows which Zelda had graciously given him in advance. He used them to finally level the playing field. After shooting a light-infused arrow at Ganondorf, his levitation didn't function for a few precious seconds, allowing Link time to attack him savagely with the Master Sword. Although some ethereal barrier prevented the lion's share of his blows from connecting, Link did at least manage to score a few precious hits upon his foe—none of which would be described as lethal, however.

Link dealt out an especially violent beating once he had used his final light arrow, causing the villainous one to begin coughing up putrid green blood.

Link held his sword to Ganondorf's throat. "Release Zelda immediately," he demanded, voice rife with uncontainable rage.

Ganondorf was incredibly frustrated that he was actually being harmed by what he saw as nothing but a pitiable runt. He realized then that he had failed to take into account the power of the light arrows, a lifeline which Zelda must have undoubtedly given him.

His anger was so intense that he slammed a fist into the floor and starting making the entire castle rumble using unbelievably powerful sorcery. He managed to pull a disappearing act before Link was able to finish him off. Link was barely able to walk without tumbling over because of the terrific strength of the shaking.

The crystal surrounding Zelda began dissolving away, causing her to plummet to the floor below. Link narrowly managed to reach her in time to catch her. There was hardly time to enjoy having her in his arms again, however. They had to hurry out of the castle or Ganondorf's magic would certainly cause the entire castle to collapse with them still inside.

Link cleared the path of the horrific monstrosities that threatened to delay their escape from the castle while Zelda used her magic to remove the barriers that appeared along the way. They worked quite well as a team, each of them providing indispensable help to the other, and they succeeded in escaping just in the nick of time.

As they were running a safe distance away from the castle, they turned around to see it collapse spectacularly, creating a cacophony of noise and a huge dust cloud from which they had to shield their eyes. Although they didn't want to jump to any conclusions, when the dust began to settle, they shared a glance that told each other they thought the ordeal was finally over.

However, from off in the distance among the ruins of the castle, they noticed some movement through the remaining dust wafting in the air. They both gasped in horror upon seeing what followed. An enormous, shadowy figure rose like a phoenix from the ashes, displacing huge piles of debris as if they were twigs. Ganondorf had decided it was time to take off the kid gloves and transform into his real form—that of Ganon, the hideous, gigantic pig-faced monster who stood on legs as thick as tree trunks. He would not underestimate the runt again.

Link made it clear to Zelda that he wanted her to stay at a safe distance since he didn't want to risk her being harmed. Zelda hated to admit that he was probably right but she was still reluctant to comply with his request. In any case, she certainly didn't plan on standing idly by and instead started searching for ways to assist him. The first thing she did was toss him a bundle of arrows she had found on the way out of the castle which she had already infused with light magic.

Link was extremely grateful for this as he knew he probably wouldn't have a prayer without them. Ganon was simply too massive and overpowered to be killed solely with a sword, even one such as the Master Sword which was forged specifically for the purpose of sealing malevolent beings.

Ganon easily and quickly crushed the debris that was in his path, hardly even slowing down in the process. He was surprisingly agile for such a large being but still no match for Link's speed. Ganon shoved some of the debris toward Link who had to maintain a safe distance in order to allow himself enough time to dodge.

With careful aim, Link shot Ganon directly in the face with a light arrow which caused him to fall to his knees, affording Link the opportunity to attack Ganon for a few precious moments without worry of a deadly counterattack.

Link repeated this process several times but eventually Ganon wised up, swiping his long tail and managing to knock the Master Sword from Link's hands, causing it to spin rapidly through the air. It would have fallen into the abyss over which the remnants of the castle were floating were it not for Zelda's use of a well-timed ice spell to knock it off course. She retrieved the sword from where it fell and handed it to Link after he rushed over to recover it. She also offered him a few words of encouragement and a friendly touch on the shoulder to keep his spirits up.

Ganon indiscriminately tossed debris left and right in his blind rage to finally crush the pest once and for all. He wanted all the pieces of the Triforce for himself so he could have the ultimate power, and he knew the only way to do that would be to dominate or destroy the current, fate-ordained owners of the other pieces. However, no matter how powerful he was both physically and magically, it was not enough to overcome the sheer power of will of the hero of time and his true love, both of whom were fighting to save the land and the way of life they cherished.

Zelda began to invoke a light spell that she hoped would be powerful enough to pin Ganon completely to the ground, but when he noticed what she was doing, he marked her as his new priority target. She was almost completely defenseless during the incantation because of the incredible, uninterrupted focus it required.

Link used all the light arrows he had left in an attempt to distract Ganon away from her and delay him. When she was finally able to unleash the spell, it worked as she had hoped, allowing Link the opportunity to stab his sword clean through Ganon's skull. Then the seven sages, the last of which was Zelda herself, used their power to seal Ganon into a distant void from which they prayed he would never be able to escape, although he used his last breath threatening to do just that.

Zelda was thoroughly exhausted from the battle but still managed to celebrate the victory with Link. "Thank the goddesses this nightmare is over!" she cried ecstatically. "Link, you were so amazing! We all owe you so much for this!" She covered him with a flurry of kisses and finished with a warm, secure hug that lasted for some time.

"I never could have done this without you, Zelda. Thank you," Link said gratefully.

Zelda directed a cheerful smile at him. After thinking for some time, she made an announcement. "I'm going to send you back, Link."

"Send me back? What do you mean?"

"Using my power as a sage, I can send you back to your original time, before any of this started. Once you place the Master Sword back in its pedestal in the Temple of Time, the pathways of time will close once and for all. We sealed Ganondorf away to a place where he should never be able to terrorize us again. We will finally have the chance to live our lives normally, as if it he had never even existed."

Link's face was full of shock and disbelief. "I don't want to go back," he said firmly and resolutely, shaking his head from side to side.

"Link—it was my fault Ganondorf entered the Sacred Realm! I didn't consider the possibility that he would follow you in once you opened the door. You missed seven years of your life because of my childish mistake!"

"The past doesn't matter!" He took one of Zelda's hands, held it between his own and looked at her affectionately. "I have you now, Zelda. I have all that I need."

She felt herself blushing uncontrollably. "Link...you're so sweet..." She raised her other hand and played with the stray strands of his hair not covered by his cap. "You make this so difficult for me to do..." She remained in contemplation for some time before continuing to speak. "...Yet the prophecies have made it clear that I am to send you back once the kingdom is at peace again. I can sense that the choices we make now will have profound effects on the future, effects which we can't even begin to fathom. For that reason, I can't compromise with you on this."

He was obviously disappointed with how adamant she was. "...What will happen...to us?" he asked cautiously.

"You will remember everything that happened."

"And you...? Will you remember?"

She hesitated a long time before answering in a low voice. "...I won't remember anything."

The worry was written all over Link's face. "No! I won't go!"

"I'm so sorry, Link, but I must send you back... Really, I'm quite jealous that you're going to remember this whole crazy, amazing adventure we've had and not me." She touched the side of his face to calm him and looked directly in his eyes before continuing. "You worry too much, you know? I suspect...no, I'm _sure..._ no matter where we are in time and space, we're destined to meet. And trust me...I will fall for you again just as hard as I did in this timeline." She gave him a deep kiss as a farewell but knew that this was only a temporary separation. They were soon to meet again.

Link spent a long moment mulling things over in his mind before he reluctantly handed her the ocarina, ultimately deciding to trust in Zelda's wisdom even if it caused him so much pain. She began playing the ocarina for what she knew would be the last time.

O.O.O.O.O.O

Epilogue

Zelda had just finished a foreign language lesson given by one of her tutors and was thinking about what to do with her free time afterward. She usually went to the castle library to read some children's chapter books around this time but she felt a strange sensation that pulled her to her courtyard garden instead. It was a tranquil place that she normally only went to specifically when she wanted to be alone and to reflect.

She was sitting near a flower bed, admiring the beauty of the various flowers while quietly humming to herself the royal lullaby that Impa always sang her to sleep with as a young child. Suddenly, she became aware of the presence of another. She looked up and saw a strangely familiar-looking boy dressed entirely in green a short distance away near the entrance. She examined him closely and curiously. For some reason, she didn't think to question how he had passed all the guards outside the courtyard, nor did she feel even a shred of fear toward this unexpected visitor. Rather, she stood up and greeted him warmly. "Hello. Do I...know you?"

In response, the boy walked over to her, stretched his arms out and hugged her tight, almost as if he was afraid of letting her go...and somehow, in that instant, wide-eyed and almost in disbelief, she knew. It was him.

O.O.O.O.O.O

(Way too many) closing comments:

The idea behind this fanfic is one that interests me even though you hardly ever seen it represented in the media. Obviously, a language barrier is a pretty big obstacle to overcome but I think it makes the romance all the more meaningful if/when the barrier is surpassed. I thought about making an original (non-fanfic) story with this theme at first but I was too lazy to come up with my own characters and setting (lol) and after thinking about how it could plausibly be applied to the story of OoT, I decided to make it a fanfic instead. If you've read this far then you probably didn't mind that decision too much, eh?

OoT has my fave iteration of Link and Zelda partly because you get to see them as both kids and young adults in the same game (time travel FTW!) and because Zelda actually does (significant) things to help her man for once! The personality I gave her in this fic really isn't that OOC for her since there's a gossip stone in the game which states that Zelda is a tomboy, but I still made her more 'modern' here because of my attempts to be funny.

Remember that scene where Sheik reveals who 'he' really is by changing back to Zelda in the Temple of Time (aka, a public place _really_ close to Ganon's castle)? I tweaked that scene a lot in this fic because it's lame to think that she could have successfully hid for seven years just to go and blow her cover in a really dumb way like that. She's supposed to be the _wise_ one, remember, Nintendo?

I purposefully made most of the story from Zelda's perspective since I thought it would be better not to get into Link's head too much since that's left a mystery in the games too. Some of the changes to the events of OoT I made simply to keep things interesting, make things less gamey and to suit my tastes. I prefer to imagine that when Link went back to the past for good, Ganon was no longer in existence because, IMO, sending Ganon to a void should have eliminated him from time and space in general (isn't that how voids usually work in fiction...?) and only by escaping from that void could he ever exist in the regular world again (geez, thinking about existential stuff like this hurts my head...lol). For that reason, Zelda wasn't expecting to see Link in the epilogue and he went there simply to see her again (aww...)


End file.
